Fire-escape



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. G. LOOKI-IART. Fire Escapes.

No. 228,822. Patented June 15, I880.

N.PEIERS. PHOTD-LITNOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. o c

(No Model.) 2Sheet8-8heet 2. G. LOOKHART. Fire Escapes.

No. 228,822. Patented June 15,1880.

MPEIERS, PHOTO-UTNOQRAPNER. WASHINGTON. n10,

UNITED STATES PATENT Orricn.

GEORGE LOOKHART, OF TARRYTOWN, NEW YORK.

\ FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 228,822, dated June 15,1880.

Application filed April 20, 1880.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE LOCKHART, of Tarrytown, in the county ofWestchester and State of New York, have made and invented certain newand useful Improvements in Fire- Escapes, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,the same not having been, to my knowledge, heretofore patented in anyforeign country.

My invention has relation to that class of fire-escapes wherein laddersfor the descent of occupants of the building are conveniently arrangedwith respect to the doors or windows, and intended to be among theadjuncts of the building itself or attached thereon; and the object ofthe invention is to provide a simple, cheap, and effective means ofescapein case of fire or accident, under control of the occupants of thebuilding or authorized persons on the exterior, affording an easy meansof descent from any story, protection against accident from fallingtimbers and the like, and when not in use protected from the damagingeffects of rain and sun, and unaccessible to unauthorized persons.

To accomplish all of this the invention involves the use of a series ofjointed ladders, forming, when adjusted for use, a ladder-way from eachstory of the building, a hinged shield adapted to cover the ladders whennot ready for'use, a sliding guard adapted to cover the space betweentwo consecutive shields, and to be covered by the shields when notdropped down, a hinged balcony, and certain accessories, the parts beingcombined and relatively arranged in manner hereinafter first fullydescribed, and then pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a fire-escapeconstructed in accordance with my improvements. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation, and Fig. 3 a vertical section, the ladders ineach of thesefigures being closed up and the apparatus represented in its ordinaryposition upon a building. Fig. 4 is an elevation of one side of theapparatus shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the ladders and the guards,shields, and balconies being represented as dropped down into positionfor use. Fig. 5 is (No model.)

a vertical central section of the apparatus in position as indicated inFig. 4. Fig. 6 is an elevation and partial section of one section of theapparatus, showing the shield as closed, while the movable ladder isstill down, so to bring the projections on the guard over the top of themovable ladder, in order that the ladder and guard may be simultaneouslyreturned to their proper places when the apparatus is being closed. Fig.7 is a perspective view, indicating the manner in which the balcony issupported upon the window-sill when the balcony is in position for use.

In all the figures like letters of reference, wherever they occur,indicate corresponding parts.

The system herein shown is applicable to a building of any number ofstories; but in order to illustrate the principles of my invention ithas been deemed necessary to show only two sections of the improvedescape, other sections being added as the number of stories isincreased, or only one section used at pleasure.

In each section of the escape I employ a stationary ladder, as at A,secured in any suitable permanent or semi-permanent manner to the sideof the building, and near the windows or other openings, where they willbe convenient of access.

Over the ladder A is mounted a second movable ladder, B, running inguides upon A, or otherwise arranged in connection therewith, so that itwill slide up and down easily without danger of lateral displacement.This ladder B is intended to reach from the bottom of one stationaryladder, A, to the top of the next one below, as indicated in thesectional view, Fig. 5. It is provided with a hoisting chain or cable,1), running over a pulley, 0, above, preferably on the top rung ofladder A, and connected with a shaft, cl, upon which a wrench, 6, may beapplied to wind the ladder up, when desired to close up the apertures.

Instead of a single hoisting-chain at the center of the ladder, it maybe found advantageous to employ two chains, and locate one at each side,so as to be out of the way of the feet and hands of the personsdesccndin g.

The outer shield, 0, covers both ladders when in place, and it is hingedto the side strips of ladder A by two or more arms, f f, which, when theshield is lowered, cause it to assume a position far enough from theladder to allow a person to move up and down on the ladder withsuflicient freedom.

Suppose the movable ladder to be down. Then, to close the apparatus theyare wound up by their respective wimling-chains, one at a time, until attheir proper places. The shields O are first elevated by suitable chainsor cables, g, and thus swung into their places upon the armsf, wherethey are caught by the hooks h, properly pivoted upon the sides ofladder A, or at any convenient point, and held closed. The hooks 0; uponladders B catch over the tops of shields O and hold the ladders up. Thehook i on ladder B must be in the form of a spring or equivalent, sothat when the ladder reaches its proper position it must be thrown outover the top of the shield upon which theladderis supported. Being up,it is plain that when hooks h are detached or moved the shields willdrop down and the movable ladders fall to their extended position bytheir own weight. The hooks 71,, upon the lower sections of the escape,are each provided with an arm, h, as shown in Figs. 1 andet, extendingin the path of the falling ladder above, so that in order to drop allthe movable ladders it is only necessary to detach the uppermost hook,and each falling ladder of the system will release the shields andcorresponding ladders ofeach of the sections below by striking upon thearm ,h, and thus tripping or releasing hook h. The cord connected withthe uppermost hook, h, should be located inside the building, withinconvenient access of the occupants, and, if carried to the exterior,protected in any suitable manner, as by a look, so that it is onlyaccessible to au thorized persons who may be in possession of the key.It might be well to make this releasing-cord of such material as to beeasily burned, and to expose it upon the interior in such manner thatany fire in its neighborhood will burn it, and thus automaticallyrelease the ladders and allow the apparatus to assume a position readyfor use.

The shields G serve not only to protect the working parts of theapparatus when not in use, but they afford a cover for the escapingpersons, protecting them from falling brands, falling timbers, 850. Theyalso, in agreatmeas ure, add to the security ofthe apparatus,in thatpersons using the ladders are by them confined to a comparatively narrowspace, and are thus less liable to dizziness or to lose their hold orfooting, as sometimes happens in the old forms of uncovered ladders.

The shields may, of course, be utilized for ornamental effect upon thebuilding, adding to the appearance thereof rather than detracting fromit, as in most forms, and especially may they be utilized for signspacesor advertising-spaces, as on stores and thelike. Within each shield G isa second metallic guard, D, movable like the ladder B, and intended toreach from one section to the other, covering ladder B when down. Thisguard D may be made of light metal, and it has any form of slightprojection to sufficient to connectits top with the top of the movableladder, so that when the ladder is elevated the guard will also beelevated. The guard moves in suitable guides upon the outer shield, andwhen the latter is closed up it carries the guard with it, as indicatedin Fig. 6, so that theiprojection w is brought over the ladder B. Forthis reason, in closing up the apparatus the shield is closed first, aspreviously explained.

The guard is prevented from falling too far by stop w on the guard,which strikes the top of the guide g.

On each shield O is hinged a balcony-platform, E. with upright F, hingedto the platform, and horizontal bars G G, all so arranged that it willfold up and form, when in place, a portion of the side wall of theshield. This platform might be connected in any suitable way with themovable ladder, so that when the latter is elevated the platform wouldbe folded into place; but the closing up of the apparatus is not afeature of so much importance as is the. ready ease and sure means ofdropping it down into position for use. The closing might beaccomplished in any one of a variety of ways. As the shield falls thebalcony automatically assumes its proper place in front of the window orother passage. When down the bottom of the balcony rests upon theprojectin g window-sill, as plainly indicated in Fig. 7, which sillaffords a firm support for the balcony and any weight likely to beplaced thereon.

An alarm-bell, H, is arranged to be operated by the lower ladder forawakening the occupants of the house, giving the alarm of fire, andespecially to indicate that the fire-escape has been moved, so that incase the ladders be dropped by any unauthorized person attention will bedirected thereto. The means of ringing the bell is very simple: a bentarm, K, carrying the striker, is pressed by spring in against the rungsof the movable ladder, so that as each rung passes the arm K the bell isstruck once. As the ladder is made to descend very rapidly the ringingof the bell will be somewhat peculiar, and readily recognizable as analarm to persons within the building. The bell should, of course, beconcealed or protected. It might be located under the ladder B orelsewhere, as convenience might suggest.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a fire-escape of the character herein specified, the stationaryladder, a movable ladder mounted thereover, a hinged shield covering thestationary ladder, and a depressible IIO guard adapted to cover thedepressed ladder, these parts combined and arranged to operatesubstantially as shown and described.

2. In combination with a hinged shield for the ladders of a fire-escape,the locking-hook, adapted to be tripped and to release the shield,substantially in the manner and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination, with the movable ladder, of the sliding guardconnected therewith, and made to rise and fall with the ladder, substantially as shown and described.

4. In a fire-escape, the combination of the independent sectionsthereof, each having a stationary ladder and a movable ladder, outershield, and movable guards, the movable ladder of the upper sectionbeing arranged to release the shield, ladder, and guards of the lowersection, substantially as shown and described.

5. The combination of the hinged shield for the ladders and the foldingbalcony, connected therewith and adapted to drop down into place beforethe window or other aperture, substantially as shown and described.

6. In a fire-escape having one or more movable ladders, the combination,with the movable ladder, of the alarm-bell, operated by a bentspring-actuated arm which receives its motion from contact of the rungsof the falling ladder, substantially as and for the purposes explained.

7. The depressible ladder, provided with a hook adapted to engage withthe top of the hinged shield and to be held in its closed position bysaid shield, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand inthe presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE LOGKHART.

Witnesses:

WORTH OSGOOD, ARTHUR M. PIERCE.

